Science stagnated

A megafauna bias in India's carnivore research is hampering the country's conservations efforts 

- TIASA ADHYA

CARNIVORES DOMINATE the food web. Yet, they are among the most threatened mammals in the world. This is the reason, substantial research and conservation resources are invested towards studying, protecting and managing carnivore populations, globally. However, this does not seem to be the case in India, despite the country being strategically important for carnivore conservation and management.

Estimates show that India is home to 23 per cent of the world’s carnivore population, belonging to 60 species. A review of 1,792 studies published since 1947 shows that the impact of the 70 years of research on the charismatic species on their conservation status and policies in the country have been far from satisfactory. The review, done by a team of 15 researchers from 12 Indian institutions, has further found that the wild cat family, particularly the tiger, dominates carnivore literature in the country. The Indian leopard, golden jackal, dhole and jungle cat are the other top carnivores that have received a substantial research focus. But the quality of studies on smaller and less charismatic carnivores has generally been poor, says the paper, published in peer-reviewed international journal Biological Conservation in 2022.